When do carpenter ants swarm in Colorado Springs?

Seeing ants crawl across the kitchen floor on occasion or populating cracks in the pavement outside is annoying but not uncommon. You might even expect them in those places (unless you have a home pest control plan in place) but not flying through the air in a swarm of thousands. Unfortunately, carpenter ants in Colorado Springs and throughout Colorado do swarm every year and if you observe a swarm on your property, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to panic. Of course, there’s also the chance these wood-destroying ants could end up inside your home.

What is a carpenter ant swarm?

Carpenter ants are not the only insects that swarm as part of their natural lifecycle but they are a significant pest here in Colorado. Not sure what we mean when we say swarm? Imagine those big black ants with wings and you have a carpenter ant that is capable of swarming. 

Like other ants, winged reproductives, both male and female, will emerge from their nests in order to mate. This phenomenon is known as swarming. While the carpenter ant swarm (also called a nuptial flight or mating flight) occurs, females and males mate. Once that is accomplished, male reproductives die and the females fly off to establish new nesting sites and raise their progeny. 

When carpenter ants swarm

Now that we know what a carpenter ant swarm is, let’s talk about timing. In Colorado Springs, Denver, and Loveland as well as throughout Colorado, carpenter ants usually swarm in the late spring and early summer. Of course, weather and other environmental factors may influence when they swarm but often it happens when the days are warmer and after significant rainfall. 

Where carpenter ants swarm from and why it matters

Winged carpenter ants emerge from nests in order to engage in their reproductive efforts and unfortunately, carpenter ant nests are not always outside the home. If you suddenly find your home filled with a carpenter ant swarm, it’s a sure sign that you have a colony of wood-destroying ants somewhere inside it, and action should be taken to locate the nest(s), exterminate the ant population, and correct the conditions that attracted them in the first place. Read Moisture And Carpenter Ants Don’t Mix for more on that subject. 

A carpenter ant swarm OUTSIDE your home simply indicates that there is a colony nearby, it could be on your property but not necessarily. Common outdoor nesting sites to keep an eye out for include, but are not limited to: 

• Stumps
• Rotting logs
• Fence posts
• Landscaping timbers
• Tree hollows

Though you don’t need to take immediate action, you should consider scheduling an inspection to determine if you have carpenter ant activity on your property. 

How to solve a carpenter ant problem in Colorado Springs

Carpenter ants are not a pest problem you want to ignore. Whether you’re dealing with carpenter ants in your house or outside, the highly trained and licensed home pest control professionals at EnviroPest can help you get your carpenter ant problem under control.